More Hints & Tips ffor Backpackers...

Remember this is a blog & it updates backwards! Go to the bottom and find the first post if you want to get the gist of this in sequence...

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The strange thing about Backpacking for me was this...no one commented on my age!

I felt at first that the young kids wouldn't want a senior person in their rooms with them, but no one ever said anything.

In fact when everyone got asking each others reason for being on the go, I said I was on my Granny Gap Year & they all thought it was awesome that I would do that...but thought I must have been awfully young to be a gran.

One thing I forgot to mention about hostels was the fact most all have lockers &/or secure areas for your goodies. I took my big laptop & simply locked it up in the lockers allocated to my bed number, applied my padlock & went on my way exploring without worries.

Breakfast is provided in most hostels from around 6am to about 10 am, depending on areas, so have a good one to keep the hungries away. Cereal, milk, bread (or toast in UK only),  jams, tea & coffeee in most hostels in UK.

In Europe most hostels provided a variety of Rolls, cheeses, meats, fruit, yoghurt, breads, jams, meusli, cereals, milk tea, coffee & hot chocolate for breakfast & most people seemed to make a few extra sandwiches to take with them to have for lunch..

I found European hostels breakfasts to be of a generally higher standard in most instances.

As far as standards of cleanliness etc, I found most were great, some were 5 star standard, a couple could have had some bath room access renovations, but overall...very good for the 6 pounds to 25 Euro a night paid. 

There were a few glaring exceptions who sparkled & glimmered with new & clean as clean...The Huttledorf in Vienna, YMCA Hostel in Munich, one in Salzburg & the one in Galway Bay, in Ireland, for instance. The one in Galway Bay was 2 yrs old, called Snoozles & I thought was probably the best hostel overall. 

Most had kitchens with appliances, crockery & cutlery, so a cuppa & food were never an issue. Supermarkets were handy & plentiful & food was cheap. Booze & chocolate were so cheap in Prague & Vienna & chocolate  & yogurt were practically at give away prices in Switzerland.

In Prague a half litre of beer was 6 cz...that's about 5-6 cents to a cz, making a 500 ml bottle of beer 36 cents. 

Vodka was about $3-4 Aussie dollars a big bottle & my favourite little 200 ml Piccolo bottles of champers were (85cents Euro) about $1.20 or so. Here they are from $4-$5 a 200 ml bottle.

Forgot to mention the bus fare from Galway, Ireland to Dublin (right across the country) was $5 Euro! Missed the $1 Euro fare by a day, but got the 5E fare just the day before, so do take heed and check out the fares daily for specials. The 10Euros I saved allowed me the super feast I had in Bangkok on the way home...the Kamikaze blue drink & the lovely Thai Green chicken curry!

If on the pension, let Centrelink know you will be away & when you will be returning. There is no problem & they keep sending your pension to your designated account.

If you are between houses & want to save some money, go to Europe & UK & spend up to 6 months in cheap hostels with limited travel. Here's an example.

Hostel $10 Ausd a night...$70 Ausd a week. 

Food. $50 a week will see you well fed.

Local transport...$10 a week.

$10-$20 a week for extras. No electricity, papers, petrol etc.

All up...about $140 -150 a week whilst saving.

So in 6 months you could save about $150- $200 a week, that's about$3,000 to $5,000 in that period of time & using your 2 advances a year of $1,000 each 6 months, you could go overseas once a year, save heaps, trip around for one full month with your savings....or just trip around for the whole six months & don't save!

Free WiFi, so you can sit & use your lap top all day for FREE...Write & publish a book. Just look at the opportunities for your grans & gramps everybody!

Do's and Don'ts For Backpackers...

Remember this is a blog & it updates backwards! Go to the bottom and find the first post if you want to get the gist of this in sequence...

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There were a few things I found out about by accident before I left that made my 9 week backpacking trip stress & worry free & some other things I learned on the go...

• Let your bank know you are heading off overseas & give them a return home date too, if possible.
• Check with your bank & get your "Visa" cards activated for overseas use. The bank will set your cards up for this step, free of charge.
• Make sure you understand how to report stolen or lost cards etc & how/where to get replacements.
• I had 3 cards, all with small amounts in each. If I lost one or it became damaged, or stolen, there would not be too much grief over the amount lost/stolen.
• Every few days I transfered certain amounts of money into the main card, from an account that was not attached to any card, ensuring my funds remained secure & I remained worry free.
• I kept my passport & cards with me 24 hrs a day. I had a little dilly type bag & slept with it & took it everywhere. I did not use a hand bag, but carried my camera, passport, glasses & money purse with me at all times.
• I found the Hostels super safe as most had closed circuit TV & the type of kids coming thru the hostels were of a very high standard.
• Become Visa Verified. This is an added security step that Bank of Scotland requires in UK for every financial card transaction. It's simple to do, so get it happening before you go. Just ask your bank how.
• Arrange travel insurances well in advance & get quotes from several sources. Flight Centre will actually match most any insurance policies you bring them & take off another dollar & give you some other goodies too.
• Check the dates on the policy for when you will be away... make sure they are correct.
• Check you are covered for any extreme sport too. Skiing was not covered on my policy & I missed out on skiing in Switzerland. In most cases you can not add to your policy after your journey has started, so get it all covered before leaving.
• Spend time online becoming familiar with the areas you intend to visit. There are many resources online that make it very easy to do pre trip planning. There are forums on just about everything nowadays, so hunt around & read the questions others ask. 
• I found a great picturesque train journey in Scotland this way & bought the ticket online well in advance, as the forum post suggested & saved 70% on the ticket price too. 10 pounds to go right across Scotland by train...The savings allowed me to have another day added to my trip.
• Do not disregard advance online purchases of tickets...bus, train, day tours or plane tickets to tour or hop between countries whilst overseas. I checked online with the bus line in Scotland for a price to go from Edinburgh to Inverness...a 4-5 hour trip right across Scotland from one side to the other. It was 3 pounds at 8am on the day of travel & there were lots available, so I didn't worry about getting my card out for just 3 pounds. 
• At 11 am I went to the bus station for a 1pm trip & fronted up to the counter for a ticket. It was 27 pounds! I said how come it's so different a price? They told me to go to an internet cafe & get it online...even at that late time I could still save money, as it's always cheaper online. So I trotted off 100 meters away & bought it online for 12 or 13 pounds! A good saving, but I learned an expensive lesson there! 
• Mega Bus in UK has 1 pound fares to many areas if you book online days in advance & have FREE WiFi on most of their buses! Regardless, their late online fares are still about half the price of train fares.
• Eurolines have great deals in Europe too. You can go from Vienna to Budapest, return for 19 Euros. That's 3 hrs there & 3 hrs return, for a tiny 19 E. In comparison it cost me $22 Au$d to go one way from Petrie to the Brisbane airport!
• Amsterdam return from Paris for 20E etc etc. 
• They have a great system which takes a bit of understanding at first. They currently only deliver across borders, not usually within countries, so you can't go from Vienna to Salzburg in Austria with Eurolines direct. You could go to Prague from Vienna 4hrs & 19 Euro, & get a ticket to Salzburg from there for example.
• Play around online with their ticket & timetable systems for a bit to understand how they work, as they all have little quirks that could save you heaps of time & money if you get the gist of their systems first. 
• On both Mega Bus & Eurolines, they have really cheap days/fares & have forward & reverse arrows on their charts so you can click back or forwards & find the cheapest day & off peak times to travel. 
• Practice this at home before you leave & you'll find when you get over there it won't be such a costly venture as if you didn't.
• I saw one girl have to go buy an extra ticket because she didn't understand they don't run every day to certain areas & she had planned going to a place Eurolines didn't go that day & therefore had to find alternative last minute, expensive over the counter transport to keep her next booking..
• I used Eurolines extensively as I found them easy to deal with, the buses were great, they had no hassels with luggage item limits & so on.
• They have a massive Bus Centre in Vienna & there is another big Bus Centre in Prague.
• In Prague they also have Student Lines & Eurobus lines.
• Student Lines was cheaper (1350 cz)to go from Prague to London than Eurobus (1700 cz) or Eurolines (1450 cz), so I used them for that trip, even tho I'm not a student! There's about 100 cz to 5 Au$d
• Don't get Eurolines mixed with EuroBus. I did. 
• Eurolines is Czech, I think & the other is Polish or something.
• Eurolines is the big one & is gradually setting up travel within countries. It is setting up travel to about 50 areas within France at the moment, so by next year it will be great to be able to travel all over France at a fraction of the cost available now within France.
• Eurolines also have a 15 day & 30 day travel pass, for about 220 Euros for the 15 day one for off peak season.
• They also have a 10% seniors discount too. 
• I had planned my trip prior to finding out about their passes, so I didn't get one, as I would have had to rearrange too much stuff to suit their schedules.
• I just bought various legs on my trips & it worked out cheaper for me that way as I stayed for 15 days in Vienna & 15 days in Prague, so 15 day or the 30 day pass would not have benefited me for that time.
• Each country in the group has an Euroline Centre, so when you need to travel, get the Euroline site for that country...eg. Eurolines, Prague/Czech. They have very different pricing structures & I found Eurolines, Prague, the cheapest to buy tickets from for most of my journies!
• The site following below is Eurolines, Germany
• Next time I'll get a pass tho & tour around more, knowing now how their system works.
• Eurolines also have some insane specials! 
• I just checked out these...http://www.touring.de/index.php?id=2&L=1
• Then went further into the site & found this... 
• Play around with the buttons, press promo button & see the difference in prices, go back & forth. It can save you heaps if you learn the ropes of this cheap, top class travel site!
• Here's another idea they have for a semi organised tour to Paris from Italy for 5 days.

That's enough for to-day to get your head around!
More tomorrow...

Review of an Epic Journey of Discovery...

Remember this is a blog & it updates backwards! Go to the bottom and find the first post if you want to get the gist of this in sequence...

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As promised, to-day I will give a quick review of my epic journey across Central Europe & UK  with some hints & tips for future reference.

David has suggested a map with destinations visited marked on it. Good idea, but I have no idea how to do that! I would love to see for myself, just where I ended up at times when I got it wrong...

Overall, a quick recap.

• 60 days
• Low cost...only my pension plus about $27 Au$d a day extra for 60 days...That is about $30 a week to save for a year...which is the equivalent to my ski holiday to Blue Cow annually!...plus of course, the airfare & insurance...which was under $1900.00 all up.  
• So for $70 a week saved, anyone on the pension can do a trip like this if they want to. 
• Once you're over there, it's easy to get around...especially using Eurolines in Europe & Mega Bus in UK.
• Food on the hop is cheap if you visit local supermarkets & eat like you would at home, allowing your self a treat every few days.
• I didn't venture into too many eating frenzies as most of the difference in foods was the enormous range of breads in Central Europe, cheese options to confuse a connoisseur & cold meat  varieties to satisfy any experiment! I restrict cheese at the best of times (no gall bladder, remember), don't eat processed meats...(not good for you) & of course, don't eat breads. So, fruits & vegies & basic fresh meats were the order of the day for me. 
• Rice cakes were hard to find outside of Vienna & rice pasta was non existent.
• Most Hostels supply breakfast of cereals, breads, cheeses, jam, milk tea & coffee & have good kitchens, with ovens, where you can meet other people & cook up a storm if you want to save heaps of money. Some kids lived on $2.00 pizzas, pasta & rice for their short stays. $3.00 a day for food!
• Apart from the airfares, my trip worked out at $67.00 a day all up...which includes accommodation, bus & train fares all over, the Ball & Concerts in Vienna, a new travel case, a pair of boots, a new jumper & top from Prague, some type of small souvenirs from each city, 4 cook books & a music CD from Vienna, Phantom of The Opera tickets in London, Tours in most cities & Day Tours in Salzburg & Munich, 3 in Vienna & Budapest, entry to lots of Palaces, glasses of bubbly a couple of times a week, basic good food & a few eat out treats on occasion.
• Favourite Places... Vienna, Oberammagau in Lower Bavaria & the snow.
• Place I'd go back to... Vienna & London
• Why...Vienna is beautiful, clean, has lots of fresh, good food, lots of concerts, has an amazing Ball culture in beautiful venues, like Palaces & Opera Houses, has wonderful & accessible Palaces, lots of chandeliers & is the big Centre for Eurolines buses to destinations all over Europe.
• When am I going back?...Next Ball season. I'd like to attend The Doctors Ball again, then The Coffee Makers Ball & The Masked Ball.
• Places I'd like to have stayed in longer...Munich & London.
• Things I wish I'd done & didn't... Nothing.
• Things I'd change or do next time...Probably go with a guided tour for 3 weeks to some area of interest from Vienna. I found I was a bit lazy & didn't do as much as I could have had I been encouraged by others in a group type situation. I have no regrets tho!
• There are heaps of cheap tours available all over Europe when you are over there.
• Hosteling was great, easily found, safe, warm, cozy & secure, averaging 12 Euro a night. 
• Some in Edinburgh were 6 pounds a night, while others I stayed in for ease, like London, were 14 pounds a night...all had free WiFi & breakfasts.
• A couple I stayed at ...Interlaken in Switzerland & Inverness in Scotland, were 22 pounds a night, as there wasn't much competition & they were the least sparkly clean, but still very good.
• Linen is changed when you leave. You pull the doona covers off, remove the pillow case & bottom sheet & hand it back with your room key upon checking out, which is usually 10 am.
• Check in is from about 1-3 pm, but if you arrive early at say 8am, all hostels take your gear & hold it free of charge, while you tour around & come back at check in time or later.
• On departure day, they hold your gear, free of charge again if you want, until you come back to collect it & head off on your bus, train or plane.
• Generally most were very sparkly clean, especially in Vienna, Salzburg, one in Edinburgh, called THE HOSTEL (the other 2 hostels I stayed in at Edinburgh was that funny one with the weird paintings all over it & the other, a converted Church), Munich & Galway Bay, which was possibly the best set up overall.
• Most hostels you can stay for long term & work in to pay for your room/bed.
• I will Hostel in Vienna again next year as good Hostels in Vienna are only 10 Euro a night. The Huttledorff  has a great supermarket close by & is close to the train/underground station.
• Then I think 2 weeks in Vienna in a Hostel, then find a 2-3 week guided tour of an area I'd like to visit in detail & then do a week of recon via hostels, for the next annual Vienna pilgrimage & tour that newly discovered area in depth etc. 

My trip was to serve 2 purposes only.

• The First was to go to the Ball in a Palace in Vienna & dance/waltz under the crystal chandeliers.
• The Second was to find out if I "belonged" over there somewhere. 
• I have always felt out of place here in Aus & have always wondered why or if I was meant to live elsewhere, hence the continual urge with these gypsy feet of mine.
• I found my answer in Edinburgh at a WiFi cafe as I was ordering a bus to Inverness. (Got the ticket online, 2 hrs before departure at half price too).
• A young lady was chatting with me about her similar dilemma & was bemoaning the fact she felt without roots anywhere ...
• I thought "that sounds familiar" & listened as she shared her feelings. I was suddenly inspired to say to her...
• "You will find your roots where your real soul passion can be expressed. Be it a cause, a mission, a career, family or a purpose.
• Some people discover looking after family is their passion root/anchor, others find over time that it is a certain path in life which is to be their anchor. 
• You must climb every mountain, cross every stream & follow every rainbow, until you find your anchor (dream), otherwise you will develop all manner of ailments, disease, addictions & illnesses, as your soul will be yearning for it's outward expression of the purpose & reason your soul is within your body.
• Your body will wither & die from diseases caused by your minds trying to compensate for "disappointments" caused by the soul's lack of fulfillment.
• Hope put off, makes the heart grow sick, but when it comes, it is a tree of life". 
•  
• As soon as I said that, I knew what to do & where I belonged! 
• It was amazing & I felt a great awareness, confidence & peace settle over me & I was then in a hurry to get back to Australia.
• The girl starred in amazement at me & said  "Thank-you, so much...You have given me my answer I have been searching for, for such a long time"
• I said to her..."I got mine too"!
• The actual place I was to live in/at became irrelevant for the immediate future. 
• It was WHAT I was to do that became the driving force for me, altho' I had always known that, but somehow felt I had to move around to find "where" to do it whilst doing it or even before doing it!
• Not so.
• Then as soon as I got to the next WiFi area (my hostel) in Inverness, an email came regarding an invite to a free seminar on the very subject I had chosen to follow as my passion & it was for the Thursday after I got back & 2 days before the cruise!
• So...All has been accomplished now. 
• The trip was a great success & achieved all I hoped for & I had a few bonuses thrown in too...
• Elaine in Ireland, crossing one of the seas in a ferry, seeing Phantom in West End, King Ludwig's Castle in Lower Bavaria & many other wonderful things I am so grateful for.

One thing which made me do this trip & not live it out in my mind like I had done for far too many years was a little thing I read on the power of imagination while studying meta physics, which I love to learn about.
The mind is very powerful, beyond our limited comprehension and this tiny paragraph stirred me into action & I was on the trip within 3-4 months of reading the following....
It said;

"You can visualize & imagine any manner of things, achieve great satisfaction & even a certain amount of fulfillment from continually recounting well envisioned thoughts. 

But you must actually DO the things in your mind to gain the learnings that will allow you to understand & recognise the next steps on your life journey.

Only fears will hold you back. So don't allow fear to be your master. 
Go, learn & gain entry to the next steps on your life journey towards your soul's fulfillment"...


So, I did & have!

Things to be aware of when traveling like I did will be covered to-morrow.

Day 61 & 62, ..B25th/26th March...Thailand to Brisbane

Remember this is a blog & it updates backwards! Go to the bottom and find the first post if you want to get the gist of this in sequence...

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Well, leaving London was so easy! I was amazed at how well laid out London was. You'd have to almost blind to get lost in London.

I found my way around so easily...me, who is dyslexic & forgets instruction/directions after the first  "turn left, then..."

I really liked London...probably as my preferred city overall!

I love Vienna as a place I must go to every year for the Balls etc, but London is an awesome place to use as a base for cheap jaunts all over Europe with Eurolines bus services. Amsterdam for 12 Euro etc...return, by the way...

I never knew it was so lovely & clean & pretty. I thought it would be like Edinburgh...all gloomy, spooky & greyish black!

Not so.

Left sunny England, with a crashed camera & very disappointed I couldn't film England from a very unusually clear sky. I saw all the English Chanel with not one cloud in sight & could see France & Holland & other countries as we passed over. Gradually cloud enveloped everything & it was cloudy until darkness settled upon everywhere...even from the air.

Arrived in Bangkok at 6am next day after an 11 hour very smooth & uneventful plane flight. 

Tried to sleep, but couldn't as I had mixed emotions...sad about leaving my amazing trip behind & being excited about starting my new life when I arrived home.

Bangkok was hot, muggy & rainy when I arrived...Oh no! I had forgotten that sort of heat & humidity existed.

Bought the last few mementos & prepared to leave at midnight after an 18 hour stay in Bangkok, to arrive in Brisbane at 12 mid day after a 10 hour trip from Thailand to Brisbane.

Flew over Darwin at sunrise & said Hi to Louise & Jordie, but did not see them on the balcony of their unit below!

Here are the last trip shots...

I will post a trip review tomorrow of the highlights, do's, don'ts & do agains!

Bangkok...

The Thai Kingdom has a Royal Family too...

The Thai Airport is new & is massive. I asked where to go to my connecting flight & was told...800 meters that way, then turn Right for another 500 meters then go to the 3rd floor etc etc! Amazing. One giant shopping mall with more expensive "Duty Free"perfumes & drink than I can buy here in Australia at Terry Whites & Choice Bottle shops.

The place just goes on & on!

Loved the colour & name...even this was $6 Ausd...

Nice Green Thai curry...

Thai symbols

The airport is good like this...they have day areas to camp & sleep/snooze, where no one "moves you on". They don't bother you at all if you stretch right out on the lounges & couches below...

These lounges are for snoozing on!

Brisbane has just appeared on the board in the lower right hand area. All these flights go in the next few hours. Busy airport too.

The whole place is geared as a well set out ,massive & expensive shopping mall.

Loved the girl on the scooter, taking trolleys back.

We had to board a bus & be taken across the airport to other runways to get our flight out. At least we got to walk up the stairs, which I like better.

I was in the first lot of passengers to board...

Sunrise over Darwin...

The water over some part off the coast before we landed.

Got my batteries /camera fixed in Bangkok & was happy again to take pics!
Paul came to the airport to pick me up & talk about timing. He came up the passenger set down driving ramp, just as I was exiting the Brisbane airport terminal. Thanks so much for that too Paul. Peter dropped me off just on 9 weeks ago & Paul collected me. No hassels there.
Pete was on his way to a business convention in Kula Lumpur as I was arriving back in Bris. We probably crossed on the tarmac or at least on the runways.
He arrives back from his business trip next week as we head off for our family cruise, arranged by Tina & Paul.

Am looking forwards to that. No buses to run for, no luggage to drag to the next port, no hopping on & hopping off trains, busses or planes! Not that that was ever a problem, but to cover such a vast distance & still be in the same room & bed...well; that I am looking forwards to!

Have a Seminar to attend on Thursday in relation to my new way forward & am really excited about that, as I have been following this guy for about 12 years & watched his stellar rise to grand success & progress while I went backwards. So I figure...mix with & learn from those who do it successfully!

That's it folks...no more pics until next time...probably from the Cruise. It's a little 7 day cheapie P&O special to Vanuatu etc & leaves Sunday, 3rd April. Don't know if they have Free WiFi on board yet, but will soon find out.
Will go back & finish Ireland off in the next few days. There are great shots in that group, but I missed 3 days of uploading when I was at Elaine's & have not yet caught up. Do come back in a few days time & check them out. They are awesome too..

What a great trip. What a fantastic result too.

Remember to check back tomorrow for a recap of the journey & in a few days time for a big bunch of shots on Ireland.

Love & thanks for the follow...

I appreciate your interest.

Mum

XXXX

Day 60, Thursday, 24th March...Homeward Bound....

Remember this is a blog & it updates backwards! Go to the bottom and find the first post if you want to get the gist of this in sequence...

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Saw Phantom of The Opera last night in West End, London at Her Majesty's Theatre.

It was great to see it again & hear the beautiful Andrew Lloyd Webber music played on a full orchestra in real life.

I so enjoyed that Phantom music.

Got a bit of a scare this very sunny & clear London morning as I was checking my ticket home. I thought the flight left at 2 pm, but it leaves at 12mday!

Suddenly I was scooting very fast thru my packing & so on.

Raced up the street to the bus centre, about 500 mtrs away & just missed the 8am bus to Heathrow Airport by 1 minute!

Next bus was at 9.30 am & it takes 40 mins with OK traffic to get there...

Bit anxious, to say the least for the next 90 mins!

However the bus left at 9.30 am arrived at 10.10 am & everything was marked so well, I was in my designated area by 10.30am with heaps of time to spare.

The plane took off a few mins late as it was...it was just so busy at the airport. Planes taking off like pop gun pellets, every 30 seconds. I've never seen anything so amazing in my life. It just looked like a kids play mat, with dozens of planes lined up behind each other, waiting for their take off turn.

Here are the last few London pics for to-day.

Well, I did go to London to see the Queen, but her grandson & fiancee will suffice!

The Trocadero Club in London. My camera was very broken & I was upset for the last day in London shots!

Lovely Thai Air hostie...

All ready to head home after a great journey of Climbing Every Mountain, crossing every stream, following every rainbow until I find my dream!  Which I did, by the way.

Day 59...Wednesday, 23rd March...Phantom, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey...

Remember this is a blog & it updates backwards! Go to the bottom and find the first post if you want to get the gist of this in sequence...

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Well...What a surprise London has been...

I am shocked at how beautiful & clean it is.

Good on you Queenie...

You should be very proud of your Realm.

The sun has been shining, the birds all chirping in the parks, the people are nice & Phantom is on to-nite! What more could a girl want?

It's 15 C but feels like 18 C in the sun.

It's clouding over a tad now, but is mostly still nice & sunny.

People everywhere, sitting on any bit of grass in the sun, eating lunch or just sitting & sunning themselves.

Here are the pics to-day...

Sunrise in London!

Walking uptown at 10 am, headed towards Buckingham Palace...

A lovely sunny day & lots pretty buildings near Victoria Coach Station...

The lighting is very much like Vienna!

Just a short walk & look what I found...so did a squillion others!

Buckingham Palace Gates...

The gates were opened & something was going on, there were police everywhere. Actually, I thought the Queen might be coming out to say Hi to me!

A real London Bobbie...They were all so nice & fiendly. Very chatty...

It was the changing of the Guard, I accidentally came upon, at 11 am every other day & to-day was the other day!

Queen Victoria monument

Me in front of the Palace...

I had no idea what was going on. Horses & bands appeared & I was in the middle of it all! How lucky am I?

Horse Vids Here...

People everywhere behind the barriers...

Some more Palace gates...

A better shot. My camera was dropped & I can only get every 4th or so shot. The batteries dont make contact all the time, so I pray a lot. I really do. My pics are important to me...

There they go in the distance...

Here come the real ones...

Just moving past the gardens now.

They have to let the traffic thru every now & then...

Heaps of people!

Nice shot thru one of the Arches.

A map of the Palace & surrounding area...

Part of the Gardens...

Mum in the Gardens...

A lot of trees are blooming now...

The Lake outside the Palace...

Lovely Trees...

The London Eye in the distance...

Looking back to the Palace...

Nice Gardens...

Leaving the Gardens & looking up towards Westminster Abbey etc...

A nice little herb garden in the caretakers cottage...

Forget the name of this one!

And this one...

I think it was near # 10 Downing Street & it was Budget Release Day...

Another nice building...so clean too.

The Tower of Big Ben & Parliament Buildings...

Parliament Buildings...

Westminster Abbey...

Front of Westminster Abbey...

Front of Westminster where Wills & Kate will get married next month...so I'm told.

Inside a Theatre I thought was where Phantom was!

Met some Aussies on the corner up the street looking for directions. Turns out it was the same place I am in & they both come from Brisbane. The room I'm doing this blog in is full of Aussies & Americans!

David & Rebecca from Brisbane Australia. Working here for the next 2 years. I used my half price token on a bottle of bubbles! First one I've seen in UK.